Evil, Evil Azula
by sysoba
Summary: Once Azula discovers Mai's crush on Zuko, she makes it her sworn duty to embarrass the two. A series of silly one-shots all about Azula's ploys to bring a blush to both Mai and Zuko's faces. 'Cause she delights in that stuff. Takes place sometime in Zuko's childhood, before his banishment. Rating may change.
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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"Evil, Evil Azula"

Chapter One

The sounds of laughter and joyous children rang throughout the palace's courtyard on one particular sunny afternoon. It was just an ordinary day for three Fire Nation girls. The royal kids were looking for ways to pass time while their fathers were busy with boring "grown-up stuff" like politics. And as usual, Azula and Ty-Lee were having a cart-wheeling contest while Mai sat in the shade of the big tree and observed as judge.

There was a look of determination in her eyes as Azula attempted the cartwheel and backflip. Despite her focus, she couldn't quite get the landing right, and ended up straight on her butt on the courtyard's green grass.

The child prodigy watched enviously as her friend executed the move perfectly. With a wicked grin, she picked herself off the well-manicured lawn and shoved Ty-Lee to the ground.

"_Azula!_" whined Ty-Lee as the Firelord's daughter laughed at her doing.

Just then, Azula spotted her sorry-excuse-for-a-brother passing by with Mother. She cringed at the sight.

Looking away from the two, her eyes fell on Mai, whose cheeks were colored a serious shade of red. At first Azula was confused. She stared at her friend, who sat against the tree with an expression that was puzzling to Azula. She then directed her gaze to Zuko and connected the dots.

_How _or _why_ her friend could feel like that towards _Zuko_ was beyond her, but that didn't matter. Azula, being the scheming little demon she was, planned to take full advantage of that.

A mischievous grin graced her lips as an idea popped into the girl's head.

"Watch this," Azula whispered in Ty-Lee's ear. Ty-Lee giggled as Azula ran off towards her mother and brother.

"Mo-_om_," she whined as she approached the two, performing her "innocent child" act. "Can you make Zuko play with us? We _need _equal teams to play a game!"

"I am _not _cartwheeling," her brother growled as he stopped walking.

"You won't have to. Cartwheeling isn't a game, dum-dum." Azula rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I don't care. I don't wanna play with you," Zuko shot back, fixing her with an angry glare. He saw right through her act. She wasn't as innocent as many people made her out to be, and Zuko knew that.

"We _are _brother and sister... it's important for us to spend time together. Don't _you _think so, Mom?" She asked, smiling so sweetly towards their mother it made Zuko sick.

"Yes, darling. I think it's a good idea to play with your sister. Go on now. Just for a little while," Mother said as she ruffled her son's hair. And with that, she walked off. Zuko knew there was no saying no to Mom, so he was doomed to suffer whatever torture his blasted little sister had in mind. With a frown and a grumble, he followed his sister to the center of the courtyard, resisting the urge to smack that stupid smug grin off her face.

After Azula assembled them near the fountain (Ty-Lee had followed her immediately while she practically had to drag Mai to the fountain), she plucked a perfect red apple from its branch. Zuko and Ty-Lee stood facing her while she had told Mai to stand with her back to the fountain.

"Here's the way it goes," the princess announced as she walked towards Mai, apple in hand. "Now what you do is, try to knock the apple off the other person's head. Like this."

Azula placed the fruit on her friend's head and backed up so she was level with Ty-Lee and Zuko.

Mai looked up at the apple atop her head disapprovingly. An annoyed expression marked her face as she glared back at Azula. She was clearly dubious of the firebending girl's intentions.

Then, Azula shot a burst of flame at the stem of the apple, which subsequently caught on fire. She crossed her arms and looked expectantly at her brother, quite amused.

Mai stared at the ball of fire above her, too shocked and scared to even react.

Meanwhile, young Zuko looked on with a horrified expression. Without a second thought, he sprinted towards Mai.

Mai averted her gaze from the flaming fruit only to see Zuko charging at her like an enraged rhino-bull. Terrified, she yelped as he swatted the apple from her head, and unable to stop his momentum, collided into her. They both fell into the fountain with a splash.

An embarrassed Zuko laying on top of a surprised Mai? Soaking wet in the fountain? Ooh, this was just too precious for Azula. Quite the spectacle.

"See? I told ya it would work!" Laughed Azula as she gave Ty-Lee a light, playful shove to the shoulder.

"Awwww. They're so cute together!" Ty-Lee teased, pointing at the two lovey-doveys with a smirk.

Ozai's eldest child was absolutely livid. He wordlessly rose to his feet and stomped out of the fountain angrily.

Mai was no less infuriated either. She stood up, fists clenched with fury, and glared at the other two girls, trying to conceal her blush.

"You two are such..." She trailed off. She struggled to describe her anger towards them in this moment. She didn't even think there was a swear word in the book strong enough for these two. "Ugh!" Mai huffed.

This only prompted giggles from the other two, of course.

Meanwhile, Ursa appeared from the palace, walking towards Zuko.

_She just had to choose _this _moment to appear. Of course_, he thought bitterly.

"I was just coming to get you. Uncle Iroh sent us a letter from the warfront," she called, waving the scroll in her hand. She stopped walking abruptly when she noticed the pool of water trailing behind her son with every stomp. "You're soaking wet."

"Girls are crazy!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as he marched past her, towards the palace.

She could only sigh and shake her head with a small smile as she followed him in.

"Oh, and Azula? Be inside in five minutes," she called to her daughter before going indoors.

"Be right there, Mother!" Azula called back with a cheery fake-smile, watching her mother leave. Once she was out of sight, she dropped the façade. "Well. That was fun."

"I'm never talking to you again," Mai growled. "And I'm going home."

Azula rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. See you later. And come back soon, or poor Zuko will miss you."

Mai blushed despite her angry expression, tearing her gaze away from Azula's eyes.

Ty-Lee happily joined Mai as they exited the courtyard and called a servant to escort them out of the palace.

"I bet you enjoyed being in the fountain with Zuko," Ty-Lee grinned. "You should be thanking us."

"Stop it, Ty-Lee," Mai muttered as she looked away. Her blush deepened even more, and a small smile was tugging at her lips.

The acrobat just shrugged. She started cartwheeling down the hall at Mai's side. When they finally came to the exit of the palace, the servant opened the door for them and they left the royal property.

...

After that fateful day, Azula made it her sworn duty to embarrass Mai and Zuko. There were just too many laughs to be wasted if she didn't.

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**Author's note: This was based off of one of Zuko's flash backs in the episode "Zuko Alone". This was basically a rewrite of the scene, but I did add a few things that weren't in the scene. Most notably the ending.**

**I'm probably going to continue and make this a series of one-shots. It will be about Azula's ploys to embarrass the two and exploit Mai's crush on him. I don't think anybody had this idea yet so I'm going to do it. I always wanted somebody to write a fan fic about Zuko and Mai's childhood but nobody did, so I guess I will. I'm going to have a lot of fun making this.**

**Thanks for reading. Please tell me what you think. This is my first Avatar: TLAB fan fic. How did I do? I know my writing isn't anywhere near perfect. Please tell me if you catch grammar errors. All constructive criticism is appreciated. Actually, any sort of review at all is appreciated. I love hearing your favorite parts too :D**

**Also I could use ideas for ways Azula embarrasses Mai and Zuko. You can review or PM me. I may not use your idea exactly but it may generate another idea or it will draw inspiration. But I can assure you I read all the reviews and every idea will be considered. And I will give credit if I use your idea, don't worry.**

**Also: if you review, be expecting a PM or a shout-out in the next chapter from me. I'm always grateful for my readers and I'm not afraid to let you guys know it.**

**Not sure about the update schedule. Stay tuned.**

**As a side note: I love Maiko. One of the reasons why I love it so much is because it started as a childhood crush. It's one of my favorite Avatar ships. I don't hate Zutara. I actually like it. But I just prefer Maiko. But I will read a Zutara fan fic from time to time.**

**And yes: I did mean to say "rhino-bull". All the animals in ATLAB are hybrids.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

**Anyyyyywayyysss don't know if anybody's reading this hella long author's note, but if you are, thank youuuuu! Have a good day!**

**-Sydni :)**

***Edit: Thank you guest for catching my mistakes. Silly me. Much appreciated. Wouldn't have noticed if you didn't point it out.**


	2. Tea

"Evil, Evil Azula"

Chapter Two

"Rise and shine, Zuko."

The body bundled in the blankets stirred, but was otherwise unresponsive.

Ursa made her way across the room to her eldest child. She tentatively took a seat at the edge of his bed.

"Zuko," she chided softly, "it's time to wake. You have tutoring today."

The boy grunted and turned on his side. His eyes remained shut, unwilling to start the day.

"Come on now, dear. You don't want to keep your instructor waiting."

Zuko scoffed at this. _He can wait all I want him to; I'm a prince, for spirits' sake._

"You know, Zuko, the sooner you finish your tutoring, the sooner you can play with your friends," his mother prodded again.

Zuko rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes. He knew that his mother would soon make him get up anyway. But he felt the need to contradict her in some way.

"They're not _my_ friends, Mom. They're Azula's."

"Well, the sooner you finish your day of tutoring, the sooner you'll have free time, then." Ursa rose from the bed and walked across the room in her elegant manner. But she paused in the doorway, and looked at Zuko with a smile. "Mai is a nice girl, the daughter of a very loyal governor. Very smart and polite. Why don't you get to know her better, hmm?"

Zuko immediately looked away, for his cheeks heated at the mention of Mai, as he was reminded of the incident that had taken place the last time he saw her.

"Whatever," he managed to grumble, feigning nonchalance.

Seeing her son's behavioral shift and sudden desire to avoid eye contact, a smile sprouted upon Ursa's lips. But she dropped the matter and exited the room, opting not to pressure her son.

Unfortunately for Zuko, Azula was nothing like their mother.

XXXXXXX

After Zuko had dressed, he entered the dining hall to continue his morning ritual. The palace staff was well aware of his routine, and had his favorite kind of tea waiting for him already on the table. Zuko took pleasure in this and seated himself as he enjoyed his tea.

_The cook never makes it as good as Uncle Iroh... I wish he were here right now, _the prince thought after a sip of the refreshment.

Zuko hadn't seen his uncle in a good while, for he was busy in the war. He wished that it was not required of his uncle to serve in the army. One time he had expressed this to his mother, but Azula overheard and said that if Iroh didn't fight in the war, he would be useless to the Fire Nation and would be a disgrace to the throne. Yep, she had gotten in big trouble for that one, he recalled with a grin.

Pleasant memories of Azula being rebuked aside, he still missed his good old uncle. And his tea.

With a sigh, Zuko decided to take a walk around the courtyard while he finished the drink. He was mostly just trying to stall time so he wouldn't have to go to tutoring so soon, but he also felt like he could go for a quick stroll.

The young prince exited the dining hall and made his way to the courtyard. He savored a breath of the fresh, early morning air filling his lungs as he arrived at his destination. Zuko took another small swig of tea and began to walk around the perimeter of the yard.

It was astoundingly easy to drift off into thought when surrounded by the courtyard's clean aura and having your nostrils invaded by the calming scent of hot tea. There was just a sense of tranquility radiating off the place at this time of day, and it was this tranquility that coaxed thoughts out of the deep recesses of your mind and into your present conscience. This effect began to take place in Zuko.

_Uncle has been gone for so long. I hope this war gets over with soon so he can come back home..._

Iroh was the only thing Zuko thought about when the aroma of tea was present. Partially because he could always smell jasmine tea on his uncle's breath and had therefore unconsciously associated the scent with the man, and partially because he was constantly reminiscing on how his uncle could make tea better than the palace cooks (the cooks had never been fond of this). The boy's mind wandered to the last time he saw his Uncle.

_"Do we _have _to finish this game?" Zuko whined. "I hate Pai Sho. Can't we do something else?"_

_Iroh chuckled at his nephew's distaste for the arts. "Hate is a strong word, Prince Zuko. And Pai Sho is a complex game. It requires great thinking, well-refined skills-"_

_"Can we go feed the turtleducks?"_

_"...And patience," Uncle finished with a laugh after being interrupted. "Which is a quality you do not seem to possess, Zuko."_

_"I can be patient!" The young boy argued. "I just... need to find something I actually want to wait for!"_

_Iroh sighed with a slight shake of his head, still smiling. "Alright, nephew. Let's go feed the turtleducks. Maybe someday you'll learn to like Pai Sho. Though for most it is not an acquired love, but a born one."_

_"Fair enough. Come on, Uncle, I'll show you how this one follows me if I have bread in my hand!" Zuko exclaimed excitedly as he tugged on his Uncle's hand, who was chuckling at his eagerness._

Zuko was ripped away from his day dream when a pair of small hands came into contact with his back. He was vehemently shoved from behind, causing him to lose his balance in surprise and fall forward in a blur. Unfortunately, he hit another body on his way down, and spilled his tea all over the person.

An unmistakable burst of laughter sounded from behind him. Zuko was laying on top of Mai for the second time this week- but this time, she was drenched in tea!

Azula watched in amusement as Mai cried out and struggled beneath Zuko, pushing him off of her. Mai stood up and looked at her tea-soaked dress with a groan.

After his initial shock, Zuko returned to his feet and muttered an inaudible apology to Mai, cheeks flushed. But then he turned his attention to his giggling sister, and seethed, "What the hogmonkeys, Azula!" His face was contorted in anger as he glared at her. Despite being incredibly exasperated, he could not help the furious blush covering his face, much to his embarrassment and displeasure.

Ozai's daughter stalked off, still laughing. She high-fived Ty Lee, who had been a witness to the whole thing, and they giggled together as they walked away from the other two.

"Too much! Just _too much_!" Zuko's little sister cackled.

Once Ty Lee and Azula were out of sight, Zuko dared to turn back towards Mai. She was shuffling her feet idly, examining the tea stains on her dress.

Feeling rather guilty about ruining her perfectly good clothes, the novice fire bender mustered up the courage to attempt to apologize for real. Princes don't just fall onto people and ruin dresses without apologizing, after all.

"Hey," he ventured weakly.

Mai abruptly halted her moping and looked up as quick as a cheetah-rabbit when she heard Zuko's voice. Her expression resembled that of a deer in headlights.

"Hi," she managed to mumble back when she remembered he had spoken to her.

"I'm, uh, sorry about, um... spilling the tea on you..." Zuko started sheepishly, running a hand through his hair as he studied the ground.

A timid smile crossed her blush-tinted cheeks.

"No, don't worry about it. I have a million dresses like this one, anyway. And it wasn't really your fault; it was Azula's. She's a jerk."

"Yeah," he agreed with a small laugh. "She's definitely a jerk. But you don't know half of it- try _living _with her!"

"That must be awful. I can barely tolerate her the times that I do see her," Mai sympathized with a slight chuckle. "I really feel bad for you."

"It's not all bad. I mean, I get to see her get in trouble by Mom! And when she gets caught, she gets it _bad_!"

The two shared a laugh at the mention of strict discipline for Azula. What could they say? The girl had it coming for her!

Their laughter died down too quick for Mai's liking, like a blazing fire splashed with a bucket of water. After the embers of their chuckles were gone, a rather random thought occurred to the brother of Azula.

"Wait, Mai, if you think Azula is that mean, why do you come over here at all?" Zuko inquired innocently.

Mai stared at the boy for a minute, pondering how to respond to his inquiry. Checking her surroundings, she beckoned for him to follow her and lead him out to her favorite part of the courtyard: the turtleduck pond. Taking a seat on the lush blades of grass, she inhaled deeply and gazed off at the morning sky above her.

Zuko sensed that she was going to vent out something deep, so he took a seat beside her and listened intently.

"Well, part of the reason is, I'm good friends with Ty Lee, and she loves it over here. She hates being around her sisters, so this is a great escape for her. So I end up coming here with her to play," she explained. "But another reason is, there's nobody else really for me to play with besides Ty Lee and Azula. No other governor has children that are my age. And my parents say I shouldn't be around anybody but the highest-class people. They say that the common folk are bad influences and it would be a disgrace if I'm seen with them. They say it'd 'look bad' and would be 'bad for their political image'.

"But that's the thing. It's _always _about how it makes them look. It's _always _about impressing their superiors. They constantly talk about moving up on the food chain and keeping to their royal expectations and guidelines. And... and I _hate _it! Don't they realize that politics are stupid? It's _all _stupid! It's all games, just saying the right things to impress other people! Just posing to earn other people's attention! Why can't they see how shallow that is?" The girl paused to catch her breath, completely exasperated. A storm of tumultuous feelings bottled up inside for her entire life had found their way out. Mai was on fire (not literally this time)._  
_

"Mai..." Zuko breathed. He had sat by her side with an open ear to her entire confession, and to be honest, he was thunderstruck.

Zuko's voice detached her from her rampant tornado of emotions, and she became once again aware that she was in the presence of a member of the royal family. By learnt instinct, she immediately went into "polite, passive governor's daughter" mode.

"I'm sorry, Prince Zuko. I lost my head there. I didn't mean to disrespect you or your family. And I didn't mean to tell you my entire life story. I just was saying things and got carried away, and-"

"Stop it, Mai." Prince Zuko held up one hand, a stoic look on his face.

For the first time that day, he was making deliberate eye contact with her, and she was trying her best to ward off her polite-passive-governor's-daughter instincts.

He let his hand fall to his side, and his glare softened into something like an adoring gaze.

"Mai, you don't need to apologize. There's no reason to be sorry," he started valiantly. "But I never knew... spirits, I never even imagined how it must be like for you... I'm sorry your parents treat you that way, Mai." He placed a hand on her shoulder consolingly.

At his touch, a burning sensation arose on her face, and a fluttering one in her stomach despite herself. She didn't even know why she felt like this. But something about the young fire bender just appealed to her; it was a strange, foreign feeling, but one that she could not even attempt to suppress or conceal. Zuko saw her blush and internally smiled.

"Thanks, Zuko," she managed.

He nodded in response. Then he begot a slight smirk: "But you know, I never saw you so passionate before. I like that. Now I know you're not always the quiet girl everyone thinks you are, huh?"

The blush on her face had deepened, but she was smiling now, too. "Stop, Zuko."

Mai averted her gaze. She plucked a blade of grass from the ground and began twiddling with it in her fingers. It was a nervous habit she had developed unconsciously; she needed something to do with her hands. After a few moments of silence, the girl's mind began to float and wander like the free clouds in the sky. She pondered as the two sat wordlessly yet amicably. But a certain gloom came over Mai when her thoughts began to drift to her parents.

"You know, that was the longest I had ever spoken in my entire life," she said quietly.

A few seconds passed as this information was soaked up by the young boy. Wait... had he heard her correctly? Were the butterhoppers in his stomach playing messing with his ears too?

"What_?"_

"That was the first time in my life I had ever spoken all those words in a row. Maybe it was more words than I had ever said in my entire life total," she softly repeated. "My parents are always telling me to be quiet."

Zuko had difficulty forming coherent thoughts, and struggled even more so in making words out of them."H-_how? _Why would they not let you speak?" He had never heard anything more revolting in his entire life. This information could even compete with _Azula_, and that was disgusting. _  
_

"They tell me not to speak unless spoken to. They want a quiet, polite little girl; it's a politics thing again."

He felt something ignite. "_What? _What sort of parent _doesn't let you speak_? How could they...?"

"It's okay. I got used to it."

"_No_, it's _not_ okay!" He was on his feet now, throwing his hand up in the air. He was seeing red like a mad rhino bull. "They can't do that to you!"

"Zuko, calm down."

"How can you be calm? You just said like fifteen words and said it was the most you'd ever spoken!"

"I'm calm because I've been doing it my whole life," she replied. But as soon as the words left her lips, she knew she said the wrong thing.

This caused Zuko to blow another fuse. His hands were hot and threatened to explode with sparks from his fire bending.

He would have screamed in anger had it not been for a sudden projection of voice from behind him.

"Prince Zuko! Prince Zuko! _There_ you are!"

It was a palace servant, red-faced and out of breath. He ran towards the son of Ozai with great desperation. When he had closed down he distance between him and the royal young man, an expression of confusion marked his face for a moment: his brow raised upon seeing just Zuko and Mai, sitting together alone in the courtyard.

Realizing the cause of the servant's befuddled and skeptical expression, Zuko's face turned hot with embarrassment.

After a moment, the servant forcibly shook the look off his face and gave a respectful bow. "Prince Zuko, we have all been looking for you. Princess Ursa had requested that you be turned in to your tutoring instructor well over fifteen minutes ago; after the set time elapsed, myself and the other servants were sent to fetch you. It is your mother's request that I bring you to your instructor now."

Zuko offered a glance back at Mai.

"It's alright, I'll see you later. I have to change out of these clothes anyway," she said, gesturing to the tea stains that had made a home on the front of her dress.

"Right, we can talk later," he called back, his cheeks a little pink in remembrance of the earlier incident. He followed the servant out of the courtyard and Mai watched him leave. He was still hot-headed and irascible about Mai's confiding in him, however.

Once the servant had handed the prince over to his private royal tutoring instructor, he allowed a sigh of relief. But the servant couldn't help but let a small smile sprout on his lips at the recalling of seeing the prince blush around the little lady.

XXXXXXXX

Mai took her time in exiting the courtyard. Once she was back inside the main passage of the royal palace, she started the long walk towards the exit of the place. She knew her reserved chariot was waiting outside the gates, ready for her arrival at any time she desired.

She began to navigate long corridors and passageways that seemed to be common in royal estates. She had been here enough times to have a general idea of her way around, and yet some areas of the property were still undiscovered by her.

As the governor's daughter passed the corridor that led to the dining hall, who else was to appear to block her way but Miss Trouble and her suck-up sidekick herself?

"Well, well, well, funny I should see you here all alone, Mai," Azula grinned. "Where's your boyfriend at, huh?"

"Stop it, Azula. I have to get home," said Mai, rolling her eyes. She didn't have time for this.

"No you don't! You told me earlier that your parents were letting you stay all day today!" giggled the bubbly Ty Lee.

"Yeah, well, that was before _somebody _pushed another _somebody _into me so they spilled tea all over my dress!" Mai grumbled, shooting Azula a stare dead in the eye.

"Oh, please. He was going to throw himself all over you anyways. Don't act as if it's my fault for giving him a playful nudge to speed things up," Azula retorted cockily with a smirk and an eye-roll. And that was the comment that brought a tinge of pink to Mai's frowning face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mai snapped, blush deepening despite her best efforts to conceal it.

"Wow! You _already _won, Azula!" Ty Lee cheered exuberantly with her signature bright smile.

"What else did you expect, Ty Lee? But the game is _never _over, you know." _  
_

Mai could only guess at what kind of _game _Azula and Ty Lee were playing. It was pretty obvious, but Mai chose to ignore it for the sake of her own self pride.

"Well," Mai said in a bored tone, "as fun as that game was and all, I still have to get home to change into a new dress. Thanks, though."

She attempted to move past Azula, but the fire bending prodigy repositioned herself to obstruct Mai's path.

"No need. Follow me." The little princess turned on her heel with such a swagger only she could possess, expecting Mai to follow suit.

Mai did as she was expected, following the haughty Azula and sanguine Ty Lee as they embarked on a journey down the palace's halls. They turned onto the royal bedchambers hall, and Mai knew that they were headed for Azula's room.

They arrived at their destination, and the eldest girl promptly took a seat on Azula's bed, arms crossed impatiently. Ty Lee began her ritual of cartwheeling around the room before nosing through the princess's property and possessions (which for some reason beyond Mai, Azula did not retaliate when Ty Lee did so, but rather allowed her to).

Azula strutted over to her wardrobe and pulled out a traditional fire nation girl's outfit. She presented it to her friend.

"It's yours," she announced to Mai. "You left it over here last time you slept over."

Mai was genuinely surprised that Azula had kept the outfit safe in her wardrobe, waiting for an opportunity to return it to her, rather than burning it or keeping it for herself.

"Thanks, Azula," she muttered as the royal girl handed the outfit to her.

"Yeah, whatever. Now go put it on in the other room. And leave your dirty dress in the hamper, I'll have one of the maids try to wash it for you."

The governor's daughter obeyed gratefully and left the other two alone.

After Mai had left the room, Ty Lee asked, "So, what're you gonna do next, Azula?" from a perfect hand stand.

The conniving girl paced around the room in a slow manner, hands clasped behind her back.

"I'm not quite sure yet myself," she drawled in a devious tone, "but whatever it is, it will be funny."

Ty Lee seemed to accept this as an answer, but in the back of her mind she hoped that Azula wasn't plotting anything too embarrassing for Mai; she wished to sustain their friendship and keep everybody happy. She knew Mai could take a joke, but if it went too far, then the quietest of the bunch would surely draw the line. She knew that much about her friend.

Just then, Mai emerged from the other room in her clean attire. The three of them exchanged glances and then all raced out of the room in sync. To an outsider, it may have looked as though they were communicating telepathically. No words were really needed for them. They all made tracks for the courtyard, where they would spend the majority of the day.

XXXXXXXX

A few hours after he entered the instructor's room, Zuko exited it. He breathed a sigh of relief; the schooling seemed to drag on forever, but at last, it was over. He now had the rest of the day to himself. The sun was just a ways away from the center of the sky, meaning there was a grand amount of time before his curfew.

The young prince mulled over what to do next. If Mai had returned from her trip back to her own house, then she would probably be playing with Azula and Ty Lee. He didn't want to confront her while the other two were near, or else he'd hear no end of Azula's merciless taunting. He could always play with the knife that his uncle had gifted him or practice some of his fire bending forms. Zuko halted his thinking when a hand came to rest on his shoulder with a gentle grip.

"How did your tutoring go, Zuko?" Ursa asked her son.

"Eh. It's alright," the boy drawled with a shrug. "Fire Nation history isn't the most interesting topic."

"Well, not everything is going to always pique your interest, but you must learn it anyways. But you'll get through it, won't you? My tough child." His mother chuckled as she leaned over to peck him on the cheek.

Zuko accepted the loving gesture with a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah..."

"Anyways, Zuko, the cooks have prepared a nice lunch for you and Azula and her friends. Fruit tarts and turkey duck stew. Why don't you go and fetch them?"

The youngest male member of the royal family hesitated. After a moment, he responded with a nod and left his mother's presence to go find the girls. It did not go unnoticed by Zuko that the trio's main playing ground was the courtyard. Taking that into account, he briskly headed for the aforementioned location.

The prince inhaled deeply when he arrived at his destination, and the pure air of the outdoors was a welcomed felicity as it filled his lungs. He strode over to the fence that outlined the perimeter of the courtyard. Young Zuko rested his hands on the railing as he surveyed the area for the other three.

A sudden _thump _cut through the blissful outdoor air, and Zuko whipped his head over towards the direction of the sound.

In its direction he caught sight of Mai. Off to her side stood his sister and Ty Lee with their attention on the eldest girl.

Another _thump _was heard.

Zuko turned his attention back to Mai. She faced a sturdy, thick tree that was about twenty yards away from where she stood. He watched intently as she flicked her wrist, and a projectile sliced through the air in a crisp line, producing an identical thumping noise as it stuck in the tree.

Mai unflinchingly repeated the action a multitude of times with remarkable speed. Each object, which appeared to be a small knife from Zuko's distance, pierced the tree with dead-on accuracy.

"Whoa," he breathed. The firebender's eyes widened as he watched in entrancement. His knuckles had gone white from unconsciously gripping the railing so hard.

Mai captivated his attention until the final flick of her wrist. After she had thrown her last knife, she approached the tree and attempted to retrieve her projectiles.

The boy then shook his head clear and remembered what he had originally come here to do. He vaulted the low fence and made his way over to the girls with a light jog.

The daughter of the governor saw him approaching out of the corner of her eye, but pretended to be busy twirling a stiletto around her finger.

"Wow, Zuzu, you really can't stay away from Mai, can you?" derided the youngest of the royal family, sporting her characteristic supercilious smirk.

Zuko attempted to brush off the comment, though his effort was in vain. "I'm only here because Mom wanted me to tell you that lunch is ready."

"Whatever you say," she gibed in a mocking tone, holding her hands up innocently. "C'mon, Ty Lee."

Azula and Ty Lee evacuated the courtyard, and Mai moved to follow suit, but Zuko stopped her with a, "Wait, Mai."

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "Yes, Zuko?"

"So, um... I, uh, saw you throwing those knives just now," he ventured bashfully. "You're, uh... you're really good. Like, _really _good."

At hearing his voice Mai desisted her fiddling with the object in her hand. His praise inflicted a shy blush and she averted her gaze.

"Thanks. They're actually called stilettos. I, uh, have a lot of time to practice my throws."

Zuko was about to contribute to the conversation when a yell from behind him intervened.

"C'mon, _lovey-doveys_. Mom's waiting!"

Mai and Zuko made brief eye contact with matching flushed cheeks before wordlessly exiting the courtyard together to join Azula and Ty Lee.

XXXXXX

A knowing smile tugged at Ursa's lips upon seeing her son enter the room alongside Mai. She watched as the two exchanged looks at seeing that there were four seats at the small lunch table, and Azula and Ty Lee had already (deliberately, of course) sat next to each other.

They hesitantly seated themselves, reminiscence of a blush present on both of their faces.

Four servants appeared, each carrying a platter emanating delicious aromas. Each servant delicately placed their platter in front of the respective child and bowed before making a humble, hasty exit.

Each platter contained a sumptuously prepared meal of turkey duck stew, a freshly-baked slice of rich bread, a minute helping of quality vegetable rice, and the royal family's world renowned fruit tarts. Each of the children's meals were identical (except for Zuko's, which Azula bitterly noticed contained slightly larger portions).

The Fire Nation children began to dine on the delectable lunch in contentment. Ursa was summoned by her husband, thus leaving the children to eat their meal in peace. Or as much peace as a table seating a devious Azula can savage.

XXXXXX

Zuko was lucky to leave the dinner table being the subject of only a few taunts and goading jokes from his sister. It caused minimal embarrassment; Azula could have taken the teases a lot farther than she did, but she went easy on him for a reason unknown to Zuko.

What was he stupid for not realizing? That whenever his sister relented in something, she was truly plotting something on a much larger scale.

After lunch, the foursome retreated to the courtyard, where they would partake in traditional games like Hide-and-Seek and tag. Azula often put her own little twists into the games to make it more interesting (or more embarrassing for Zuko or Mai). Ty Lee, of course, would readily agree with anything Azula suggested they do, whereas Zuko and Mai were hesitant and unwilling.

After some time of this, the young boy harbored a craving for tea. He flagged down a servant who had been tending to the gardens nearby and requested his usual drink. The lanky man put down his gardening tools and set off to do the prince's bidding, rather miffed. Azula spotted this and excused herself from the group. She chased down the grumbling servant and put in her own order: Zuko's favorite, but instead of sugar, put in salt. The man raised an eyebrow at this, but knowing her will was nothing he could interfere with, went to fetch the tea. Azula also ordered that he bring some tea for her two friends as well.

When Azula returned to her friends, she was met with the gaze of a suspicious brother.

"What were you doing?" he inquired of his sister.

She returned the stare unflinchingly. "I thought it was rude of you to ask for tea without asking any of us if we wanted some, so I took the liberty to order some for the rest of us."

"Thanks, Azula!" Ty Lee burst out cheerily. The acrobat was as gleeful as always, donning that signature bright smile. But Zuko still was not convinced of his cunning sister's innocence, and his dubious gaze still lingered on her. But the matter was temporarily dropped as the four continued their games.

Soon enough, the gardener returned to the courtyard grasping a platter on top of which sat four cups of tea, each in their own little tea plate. He approached the children and bowed gruffly. "Your tea," he grunted. He handed out each cup accordingly, but he locked eyes with Azula when he was careful to hand her the salt-cup. The man bowed a final time, picked up the tea tray, and hastily left so he could get back to tending the garden.

The four sat in lotus position as they drank their tea. Azula did not sip hers. Before their cups were empty, Azula cried out, "Hey, look at those two raven-eagles fighting over there!"

The rest of the group rose and ran over to where she was pointing, with Ty Lee repeating, "Where? Where?" excitedly.

Using this distraction, Azula cheekily swapped hers and Zuko's cups, pouring out some of the salty-tea to make it seem like Zuko had drank out of it.

"Bah, there's no raven-eagles, Azula, you liar," Zuko grumbled, returning to his seat on the grass. Mai followed suit. Ty Lee still cupped her hand over her eyes, scouring the area relentlessly.

Zuko picked up his cup of tea and failed to notice the evil smirk that Azula could not conceal. Deciding there wasn't much left, he downed it all in one go- and spat the bitter stuff right back out at poor Mai, who sat next to him.

Azula was in stitches as she cackled shamelessly, letting her back fall onto the grass.

Meanwhile, her gymnast friend was oblivious to the whole thing as she whipped her head around from her raven-eagle spotting as soon as she heard Azula's hysterical laughter. "What happened, what happened?" Ty Lee whined.

Mai just sat there stupidly soaking in the stuff. _I should have seen that one coming. Azula doesn't just get us all tea out of kindness unless there's a catch._ She wasn't really as shocked this time; it'd already happened once today.

Poor Zuko. He wanted to sink through the ground and disappear. He'd spilled tea on Mai not once, but twice today, hadn't he? Stupid Azula, she always made him look like a fool.

Cheeks red with a deadly mixture of embarrassment and anger, he promptly rose from his sitting position and stormed off, mentally repeating _I hate you, Azula._

Azula was consumed by fits of laughter. She could barely breathe. _Too much, just too much!_

Mai also got up and left the estate without a word. Ty Lee followed by instinct, still unaware of what had just happened.

That would be one day that Mai had both wanted to forget and remember forever.

* * *

_Author's note: wooo, finally got that one done! Sorry it came out so late! I'll try to be better about updates. Yup, I'm definitely continuing this story. I love young Maiko, and I've got a few more ideas for this story. Hope you liked the long chapter!_

_As always, all reviews are much appreciated :) I would really love to hear your ideas about potential ways for Azula to embarrass them!_

_So whaddaya think? Too much blushing, too little, went too fast, or what? All feedback appreciated._

_Thank you to all who favorited, followed, and reviewed. Shout out to Benjamin (Guest), marinenerd01, and Guest for your reviews. Also thank you to Kaoupa, Neikey, WoRdShAkEr25, degrassilover1011, for following and favoriting! Means alot!_

_Also: let's just pretend that Zuko is tutored privately by a royal instructor since he is the crown prince and has to be educated specifically for being a crown prince. Let's also pretend that Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai still go to Royal Fire Academy for Girls, but just didn't happen to have school on these particular days._

_thanks for reading!_

_-Sydni :)_

_P.S. OMG THAT LOK BOOK 4 PREMIER THO. SO FLIPPIN' EXCITED FOR BOOK 4._

_*edit*: made some minor changes to this chapter._


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